What China's Talking About Today: Why Aren't Teachers Paid More?

Chinese teachers' salaries are lower than in many other countries, according to a recent U.S. survey.

A math class in Tianjing, Zhejiang. Reuters

Chinese teachers' wages ranked near the bottom of a survey of 28 countries,
according to a survey recently featured in a New York Timesarticle
on upcoming book, Paying
the Professoriate.

Studying the entry-level, average, and top salaries for
public university teachers, adjusted for purchasing power parity, China came
out 26th in a list of 28 countries. Canadian teacher salaries are the highest on the list and
Armenia's the lowest. U.S. teachers came in fourth.

In terms of purchasing power, new hires at Chinese universities
make $259 a month, placing the People's Republic far behind Ethiopia, where
teachers' purchasing power is $864 per month.

News of the Chinese educator's low wages sparked a trend on Sina Weibo, where in
little over a day roughly 360,000 micro-bloggers commented on the issue.

Some Weibo users didn't seem to have too much sympathy for
Chinese teachers.

"#Chinese teachers' salaries are some of the worst in the
world# Chinese teachers make more money than the entire universe outside of
class, wrote user Louyisier.
Some Chinese teachers receive red envelopes,
filled with money to ensure that students receive sufficient attention.

Other users seemed to agree that teachers have means of
receiving extracurricular money from students and their parents.

Some users said that the American study is unfair for using a
purchasing power parity index that according to the report, is based on a set of consumer good prices in the United
States, although the study also takes into account teacher salaries verses their
home countries' per capita GDP, in order to see how teacher remuneration
compares with average national incomes.

"The price of consumer goods [in the U.S. and China] aren't the same. What B.S.," wrote
user Xu Shunlin.

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